Perennials Podcast

Episode 51: How You Matter with Maya Sanyal, Part 2

Maya Sanyal and I continue our conversation about purpose by getting a little deeper and more philosophical. Maya talks about how she responds to questions that many of us ask ourselves at some point in our lives when we are faced with trying for something: “Who cares?” “Why does it matter?” and “Who do I think I am?”

Maya believes it is possible to be deeply grateful and content while also ambitious. She believes in the power of presence and creating spaciousness in our lives. Maya has worked to notice, question and dismantle her own thinking traps and hurtful thought patterns, and she offers hope that we can, too. 

Episode 50: How You Matter with Maya Sanyal, Part 1

Maya Sanyal is many things: a career and academic counselor; a mentor and teacher; a writer; a friend; a loving dog mom; a passion skeptic; a purveyor of hope; a business woman. 

In Part 1 of our conversation, Maya and I talk about her career trajectory, which includes navigating the communal culture she comes from and the individualistic culture of the U.S.; earning a PhD in English literature and a Masters in Counseling; and years of teaching and advising students in the university classroom, Writing Center and Career Center. Maya's newest incarnation is being an entrepreneur with AlkaDevika Project Solutions.

Maya shares her thoughts on our cultural obsessions with passion, excitement and quick fixes, rather than knowledge, values and patience. We talk about our shared aversion to learning about money and finances, and why it's important to have that knowledge in order to then decide how to use it. 

Maya also opens up about her history with depression, and why she now sees it as a gift. 

Maya has too much wisdom to squeeze into just one episodes. Come back here tomorrow for Part 2! 

Episode 49: Wild Invocations with Ysabel Gonzalez, Part 2

Ysabel Gonzalez and I continue our conversation about the poems in her collection Wild Invocations, which traces her journey from girlhood to womanhood. With fire and tenderness, these poems explore relationships and identity, expectations and disappointments, vulnerability and strength. 

Ysabel shares how poems help her express different parts of herself and get in touch with "characters" within her that need release. We discuss why it sometimes feels easier to write about tumultuous relationships with unavailable people rather than healthy, loving relationships.

Ysabel expresses her desire to write not just from heartache, but also from peace and joy. And, she talks about the nuance she's finding in her relationship to her family's homeland of Puerto Rico. 

Episode 48: Wild Invocations with Ysabel Gonzalez, Part 1

Ysabel Gonzalez's full-length collection of poetry, Wild Invocations (published by Get Fresh Books in 2019), is a juicy, earthy, sparkly, raw, raucous, contemplative gem.

I'm lucky to call Ysabel my friend as well as my colleague at the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, where she is Assistant Director of the Poetry Program.

In Part 1, Ysabel and I talk about the seeds of Wild Invocations, some of the challenges that ultimately helped her learn how to use her voice, and how she grapples with writing and speaking about difficult topics like grief, mental illness and white fragility. Ysabel shares her poem “How to Unlearn Being a Princess,” and we begin talking about the transition from girlhood to womanhood.

If you want to hear us continue that conversation, and talk about relationships, embodiment, and celebrating love, return here tomorrow for Part 2 of our conversation.

You can find Ysabel online at ysabelgonzalez.com

Episode 47: Building a Life with Florence Hamer

Today's episode features a truly delightful guest: Florence Hamer, a woodworker who lives in her self-built tiny house, and spends her time carving spoons, turning bowls, enjoying nature and baking cakes.

In our conversation, Flo describes the path that led her to her beautiful tiny home, from growing up on her mother's woodland, to learning to carve spoons at university, to living in a van in Australia for six months.

We talked about Flo's relationship to living against the grain; how she adventures amidst and despite worry; the romance vs. reality of tiny-house living; and treading lightly on the earth.

Episode 46: Creativity in Quarantine with Marina Carreira

Multimedia artist (and previous Perennials guest!) Marina Carreira is here to talk about creativity during covid-19. We discuss who gets to claim the title "creative," the importance of carving out creative time and rest time, and the practice of finding beauty in the mundane. Marina reminds us that if all we have energy for right now is survival, that's okay. And, creativity might show up in surprising ways. 

 

We also speak about the opportunity for self-reflection during stay at home orders, especially reflecting on racial injustices and the importance of locating white supremacy within ourselves.

 

We talked about how, ultimately, it takes a creative mind to imagine new ways of being for ourselves and for the world.

Episode 45: Belonging in Yoga with Khay Muhammad

Khay Muhammad is a yoga teacher who deeply understands the importance of creating true inclusion and belonging in her classes -- for her students and for herself.

Khay and I talk about her childhood growing up in the city of Newark, New Jersey, spending long days with her father in Branch Brook Park and learning about her connection to nature. She also shares about her experiences taking yoga classes for the first time in Brooklyn during her early post-grad years, and why her first yoga class "sucked." Khay describes feelings of loneliness and being "othered" as a Black woman in many white-dominant spaces.

Khay also explains how she's found more freedom to bring her full self to her classes teaching virtually from her home. She speaks about how large societal and community issues, like violence against Black people in our country, are intimately connected to, not separate from, our yoga spaces and practices. 

You can learn more about Khay and today's episode on the Shownotes page.

Episode 44: Bonnets at Dawn with Lauren Burke and Hannah K Chapman

Today's guests Lauren Burke and Hannah K Chapman are hosts of the podcast Bonnets at Dawn, which explores the lives, work and fandom of women writers from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

 

Lauren and Hannah share some of the wisdom they've taken from authors like Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Elizabeth Gaskell and Louisa May Alcott. You'll hear about why Lauren is drawn to the Brontës' depiction of women's rage and how she relates to these books as a woman of color; what Jane Austen taught Hannah about figuring out whether to trust a new friend, and why writing for money doesn't make someone mercenary. 

 

Episode 43: Holding Space with Zoe Gillis

I'm so grateful for this conversation with Zoe Gillis, a licensed marriage and family therapist who in today's episode is helping us to get as grounded as we can and try to stay present during a time of great global anxiety.

There's a lot of uncertainty right now, and a lot that we can't control. Zoe reminds us to focus on what we can control; to meet our own feelings and suffering so that we can work with it and use what we learn to meet the suffering of others; and to look for the good where we can.

Zoe also talks about accessing the healing power of nature, acknowledging that looks very different for people depending on their circumstances.

I mention in the intro that we had technical difficulties with our call dropping a lot (hello uncertainty and lack of control!), but don't worry--I edited the episode so you won't be able to tell!

To find out more about today's episode, and to learn about Zoe, her immersive wilderness retreats, and her upcoming virtual events, visit the Shownotes page and follow Zoe on Instagram @zoegillismft

Episode 42: Perennials Book Club, Chapter 1, Anne of Green Gables

During this difficult and strange time of social distancing amidst a pandemic, I wanted to offer some extra comfort and connection. So I decided to start a Perennials Podcast Book Club! Thanks to all who voted on Instagram and via e-mail for our first Book Club pick: Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery. 

In addition to my typical conversation episodes, I’ll be sharing regular mini-episodes in which I’ll read a chapter of the book and then end with some thoughts on the chapter. 

Please note: as of July 14, 2020, you can find episodes of the Perennials Podcast Book Club (and all subsequent chapters of Anne of Green Gables) here. 

I’m also inviting you to join me for virtual Book Club meetings to talk about the book. Anyone is welcome--feel free to invite a friend and pop in whenever you want, for however long you want.

I will post detailed information about joining the meeting on the Book Club page soon. You can sign up for a Book Club email list here to get updates on episodes and meetings, and access Anne of Green Gables free online if you want to read along with the text.

My reading of Chapter 1 runs from 3:12 - 18:07, and my thoughts about the chapter/topics for Book Club discussion runs from 18:09 - the end of the episode at 23:30